single blow Hal crushed the skull of the soldier, and then turned upon the officer who was engaging Anderson.

Lieutenant Anderson and his opponent were still battling desperately for the possession of the latter's gun, and Captain Derevaux and the remaining German trooper were rolling about upon the ground, the captain's finger still pressed into his enemy's throat. Chester had gone to the captain's aid.

Warding off the officer's sword, Anderson suddenly dropped his rifle, and, stepping inside the other's guard, placed the officer hors de combat with several well-directed and lightning-like blows to the face and jaw.

At that moment Captain Derevaux's opponent succeeded in shaking off the captain's grip, and, springing to his feet, leveled his rifle, which he snatched from the ground as he arose, squarely at the young Frenchman.

With a shout Chester sprang forward, picking up a rifle as he leaped, and aimed a smashing blow at the man's head. The clubbed weapon found its mark with a crushing impact, and the man threw up his arms, spun around two or three times, and then fell in a heap.

And it was not a moment too soon. For, as the last German measured his length upon the ground, there was a sudden shout, and a body of cavalry, attracted by the sounds of the conflict, bore down upon the victors.

"Quick!" shouted the lieutenant. "To the machine!" And, with Hal and
Captain Derevaux, he made a rush for the auto.

Chester had stopped to gather up the two revolvers that lay on the ground.

"Go ahead!" he shouted. "I'm coming!" And, picking up the last revolver, he ran up to the automobile and swung himself aboard, just as Hal, who had climbed into the driver's seat, threw in the clutch, and the machine leaped forward.

At that moment a volley of shots rang out. The whizzing bullets again flew around the car, and there was again the sound of splintering wood, as they smashed into the rear of the auto.

All but Hal dived into the bottom of the car, and he bent as low as possible over the steering wheel.

Soon the sound of firing became less audible, and finally ceased altogether.

Chester, Lieutenant Anderson and Captain Derevaux arose from the bottom of the car and resumed their seats.

"That's what I call great work, boys," declared the lieutenant, putting his hand on Hal's shoulder. "If it hadn't been for you, I guess the captain and I would be locked up by this time. Isn't that so, captain?"

"It certainly is," was the reply. "And had it not been for the prompt action of Chester in that encounter, France would have lost a captain of rifles."

Hal and Chester were embarrassed by all this praise.

"That's all right," Hal called over his shoulder. "You would have done the same for us."

At this moment the chauffeur, who had been almost forgotten in the excitement, stirred.

"Hello," ejaculated the captain. "Our friend is getting better. Guess we had better see what we can do for him."

He raised the head of the wounded man to his lap, and wiped the blood stains from his face, while the lieutenant prepared a bandage. In a few minutes the chauffeur had recovered sufficiently to drink a little water and to eat several sandwiches the lieutenant produced from a small but well-filled hamper.

"Well, I guess we are safe for a little while, at any rate," remarked Hal.

"It looks like it," replied the lieutenant; "but, as I said before, you never can tell."

They rode cautiously along in silence for a long time; in fact, until the first streak of dawn appeared in the east. Then, suddenly, the sound of chug-chugging came from behind.

Chester turned his head and jumped to his feet with a cry:

"We are pursued! Speed up, Hal! Speed up!"

It was true. Far back could be seen a pursuing automobile, and, even from that distance, it was apparent it was gaining.

Hal "speeded up" and in a short time the pursuing car was out of sight.
Nevertheless, the speed was not diminished.

"I guess they have learned that we can travel some, anyhow," remarked
Hal happily.

And just at that moment there was a loud explosion—the car rocked crazily, and Hal brought it to a stop.

"Tire blown out," exclaimed the French captain, in despair. "Now we are up against it. What shall we do?"

"Fix it," retained Chester briefly.

He got out, and the rest, including the wounded chauffeur, followed suit.

At that moment Chester bethought himself of the pursuing machine, and said:

"We haven't time. Our pursuers will be upon us."

"You are right," said the captain, "but I have an idea."

The place in which they had stopped was shaded upon both sides by great trees. As far as could be seen the woods continued. A hundred yards back over the road they had traversed was a sharp curve, hiding any approaching vehicle from sight. Ahead, the road stretched out in a straight line for a considerable distance.

"I figure this way," said the captain hurriedly, "the machine as it is is doing us no good, is it?"

"It certainly is not," replied the lieutenant.

"And, if we wait here long enough to fix it it won't do us any good either, will it?"

"Certainly not."

"Then my idea is this: Head the machine straight down the road, lash the wheel fast and start her off. If I am not mistaken, it will run along the road at least to the next curve. Even from here you can see the steep embankment at the curve. When the machine hits that curve it will go over.

"Now, if that embankment is as steep as it looks, the car, when it hits the bottom, will be out of sight. In the meantime, we hide here until our pursuers pass. The chances are they will continue past the curve, never seeing the wreckage at the bottom of the embankment, believing we are still ahead of them. Then we can continue our journey afoot. What do you think of that idea?"

"I think it is first-rate," declared Hal, and the others agreed with him.

"But won't they discover, when they reach the next town, that we haven't passed through?" asked Chester.

"They probably will," was the reply; "but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, there is little doubt in my mind that the authorities in the next town know of our coming. We couldn't be so fortunate a second time."

Accordingly the plan suggested was carried out. Hal elected to get in the car and start it, and, as it took a flying leap forward, he hurled himself from the machine to the soft grass beside the road. He was considerably shaken up, but not badly hurt.

Then the five stood and watched the car in its mad flight down the road.

"I hope that the fact of a tire being bursted won't stop it's sticking to the road," said Chester.

Fortunately the car continued its journey in as straight a line as the best chauffeur in the world could have driven, and the five companions strained their eyes as it neared the distant curve.

"It's almost there!" cried Hal. "I hope it makes a good jump; and I hope that embankment is steep."

"And I hope that she makes her leap before our pursuers heave in sight, which is more to the point," declared Chester.

Again they strained their eyes, watching the flight of the mad car. And then the car reached the